Translated, summerised from a Thai book..."ประวัติศาสตร์ไทย: ยุคก่อนประวัติศาสตร์ถึงสิ้นอาณาจักรสุโขไทย" - รองศาสตราจารย์ดนัย ไชยโยธา 2004 p. 21 - 34
"Thai History: From Pre-histroy to the end of the SukhoThai Era" Danai Chaiyotha 2004 p. 21 -34
Goes by giving names of people who propose, what they propose, and the current topic on their proposal...
Apoligise for any miss translation of names...
1. The Tai originated from the Altai Mountains (central Asia)
Up in the Land of the Eternal Blue Sky…
Two scholars purpose this: Dr. William Clifton Dodd, and the Kun Vichit-Matra (Snga Kanja-napun)
Dodd, American Missionary that lived in Thailand for 32 years, propose that the Mung, which he believed to be the Tai’s ancestor, migrated from their home in the Altai Mountains into the western part of China. His theory did not have proofs. (The Tai Race: Elder Brother of the Chinese)
Kun Vichit-Matra, Thai Bureaucrat, propose that the Tai came from the Altai before migrating down into the Yellow river basin, before migrating down into Sichuan. (หลักไทย 1974)
Most scholars now doubt the first theory with the point that the Tai couldn’t have possibly survive across the Gobi. Another point was that the Tai would have need to adopt a nomadic lifestyle which would mean that their migration would also need to suit their lifestyle. The existence of Tai culture based upon agriculture have proved the first theory invalid.
2. The Tai originated from modern-day Sichuan Province
Downwards…
Major names: Terrien de la Couperie, Somdej Phrachao Bomrawong-ther Krom Phraya DumrongRaja Nuphap, Phraya Anuman Raja-Thon, Phra Boriharn-Thep Tani, Luang Vichit Watakarn.
La Couperie, French Linguist at the University of London, used Chinese records to theorized the linguistic similarity between Chinese minorities and Southeast Asia. He concluded (The Cradle of The Siam Race 1886) that the Tai originated from an ancient kingdom in China, around 1223 BC, with Xia Dynasty ‘record’ during the reign of King Yu. According to Couperie, the Xia called this people “Mung” or “Ta Mung,” which existed in modern day Sichuan.
Somdej Phrachao Bomrawong-ther Krom Phraya DumrongRaja Nuphap (the long name is courtesy to His Highness) states that the original Tai settled in the area between Tibet and China, around the year 44 BC, and was driven down by the Chinese into Southern China, before separating into different direction in Yunnan. In western Yunnan, the tribes were the “Ngiew” and “Shan” in Southern Yunnan, the “Twelve Tai Tribes” (สิบสองจุไทย, the Tai-related minorities in Vietnam today), and in the South of Yunnan, the kingdom of Lanna and Lan Chang. (ประวัติศาสตร์และการเมือง 1974) (History and Politics, 1974)
Phraya Anuman Raja-Thon in เรื่องของชนชาติไทย, 1941 (Tales of the Thai), that the Tai originated from central China, in the Yangtze basin, from Sichuan to the Eastern seashore.
Phra Boriharn-Thep Tani, in พงศาวดารชาติไทย 1954 , that the Tai originated from central China, migrated into Yunnan and into SEA.
Luang Vichit Watakarn (one of my favorite authors
), in สยามกับสุวรรณภูมิ 1924, ชนชาติไทย 1957, งานค้นคว้าเรื่องชนชาติไทย 1971 sums up that the Tai originated in Hubie, Anhui, Jiangxi, in central China, before migrating down to Yunnan and Indochina.This theory was more accepted than the first one, but after anthropologists study the physical make up and cultural make up between the people in the area and the modern Tais, the theory was also ditched. No longer valid in Thailand. (My opinion is that if its valid at all, there is no proof because of cultural assimilation.)
3. The Tai originated from Yunnan, northern Vietnam, the Shan state of Burma, and modern Assam in India
It gets lower and lower….
Major names: Achibald Ross Colquhoun, E.H Parker, Wolfram Eberhard, Ferderick Mote, Phraya Pracha-kijkorn-juk, Kachorn Suka-Panich, Jit Phumsak, William J. Gedney, Wang Wei Kun (?? – supposed to be, or was, vice president of Yunnan International Institute)
Colquhoun, English explorer, after his exploration starting from Kwangtung to Matalay in Burma and Assam in India, concluded in 1886 that the Tai minorities have similar language and standard of living in these areas. In ‘Across Chryse’ he concluded that the Tai existed all in these parts.
Parker, former vice-consul of England in Hainan, in ‘The Old Tai Empire’ 1895, used Chinese mythologies to support historical evidence that the Tai created the Nanchao Kingdom in Yunnan.
Eberhard, German Sociologist and Anthropologist, publish his “A History of China” in 1977, where he suggested that the Tai originated from Kwangtung, then migrated into Yunnan, to Northern Vietnam, and founded the Tien (or Tan) Kingdom in Yunnan, at the time of the Han Dynasty. By the time of the Tang Dynasty, the Tai had established Nanchao.
Mote, American Historian, studied records about Nanchao and in 1965 wrote an article called ‘Problems of Thai Prehistory’ with the conclusion that the rulers of Nanchao were the Pai or/and the Yi, the Tais in Nanchao were a minority. This claim support modern Chinese historian claims.
Phraya Pracha-kijkorn-juk, famed Thai Historian-Academic, propose that the Tai origin spread out across southern China and in Assam. His investigation goes into examining ancient records of the Mon/Raman people, the Tai Yai, LanChang, Chinese, Khmere, and Siamese, which all pointed out that the Tai migrated from the southern part of China.
Kachorn Suka-Panich, Thai Historian, used Chinese, Western, and Thai records to conclude that the Tai originated from Kwangtung and Kwangxi. In 85 BC, the Tai migrated across Sichuan, Chengdu, into Yunnan, into northern Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.
Jit Phumsak, Thai writer, propose the Tai were spread out in southern China, northern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, and Assam.
Gedney, American Linguist, who studied Tai language in northern Vietnam, Laos, and southern China, wrote “Review of J. Marvin Brown, From Ancient to Modern Thai Dialects” 1966, with the conclusion that the Tai language did not exist in Yunnan, but exist in the southwestern part of China, perhaps between Kwanxi and Dien Bien Fu in northern Vietnam. He used a linguistic theory that said basically, where the language was born, the more frequent it appears in that area.
Wang Wei Kun, vice president of Yunnan International Institute, in 1984, using Chinese ancient records, stated that the Tai exist in majority in southern Yunnan, however, there were no Chinese records of the Tai in central or northern China.
This theory is still in debate.
4. The Tai originated from Indochina and modern Thailand
Nearer to the equator…
Names: Paul Benedict, Quaritch Wales, Sud Sang-Vichien, Shin U-Dee.
Benedict, American Linguist and Anthropologist, proposed in ‘Thai Kadai and Indonesian,’ 1943, with the hypothesis that the Tai’s origin should be in Indochina. The Tai language should be considered to be in the same group as the Kadai language, which still exist in southern China and also the same group as the Indonesian language. He used linguistic theory to support a language family called ‘Austronesian’ (I actually saw this word in the forum a lot
), which would be Tai, Java – Malaya, Tibet – Burma. Tai, Kadia, and Indonesian languages have the same order of words, have the same roots, have vowels, etc, that point out the origin of the Tai speaking people originated from southern China.
Benedict also propose that the Tai should have existed in Thailand at first. Then, about 4000 to 3500 years ago, a race that spoke Mon – Khmer language migrated from India into Indochina and push the Tai to migrate upward to southern China. Then the Tai also got pushed down again, and migrate southward into Assam, the Shan state in Burma, northern Thailand, Lao, and northern Vietnam. Therefore, the Tai speaking people existed throughout the area, unfortunately, Benedict did not provide solid evidence in this proposal. (We are such a peace loving people…
) Wales, the first Western academic to provide evidence that the Tais existed in Thailand at first, used skulls found in Kanchanaburi Province, dating back to 58 AD, and compared it with modern Thai (ethic-Tai) skulls. This leads to the hypothesis that the Tai might have been in Thailand for the past 2000 years, and that the Tai might have originated in Thailand from the beginning.
Sud Sang-Vichien, expert Thai Physiologist, compared New Stone Age bones (that a Thai – Denmark archeology joint venture dug up in Kanchanaburi and Rajaburi Provinces, between the year 1961 to 1963, resulting in 37 projects) with modern Tai bones. The result was that the New Stone Age bones were almost totally the same as the modern Tai bones. He concluded that present day Thailand could actually be the origin of the Tais.
Shin U-Dee, expert Thai archeologist from the Ministry of Arts, publish his book about pre-history Thailand in 1968, with the conclusion that modern Thailand have proofs of inhabitants since the Old Stone Age, New Stone Age, Metal Age, and into the Historical era. Between each ages, there is also continuity in culture and civilization.
This theory is still in debate.
5. The Tai originated from the Malay Peninsular and the Indonesian islands
Right by the equator…
Names: Somsak Punta-Sombun, Pravej Vasi
These two person are in the Thai Medical field. This theory was proposed since 1958.
Somsak Punta-Sombun did a research relating to blood types and genes. The results were that the Tai people were close to the people in Java. He also reported that the genes between the Tai and the Chinese are not similar, and therefore, the Tai and Javanese should have a closer relationship, and that the Tai might have once lived in Java. (OMG: maybe we were the Pigmies…
)Pravej Vasi, a sage in Thailand other than a Doctor (just my admiration) did a research regarding Hemoglobin E, with Khonkhaen University, and the result was that Hemoglobin E was found more in the people of SEA, in the Tais, Khmer, Mons, etc, but is not found in Chinese.
Therefore, both advocate the possibility of the Tais existing in the Malay Peninsular and Indonesia.
Still in Debate.
Typing up a translation... kills you...but i'm willing to die!!
Upcomming Projects: Sukhothai History!!! Or do you want a listing and brief description of Kingdoms found in Thailand??
